Cooling vest



Feb. 25, 1969 1. GOLDMERSTEIN COOLING VEST Sheet Filed April 27, 1967 W?H l I I. GOLDMERSTEIN Feb. 25, 1969 COOLING VEST Sheet Filed April 27,1967 INVENTOR o 1 +000 vkowowonv AS000 GO/dmer'Sfe/h Feb. 25, 1969 1.GOLDMERSTEIN COOLING VEST Sheet Filed April 27, 1967 INVENTOR UnitedStates Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cooling vest formed of arectangular strip of material shaped to form a wide band body. Theband-shaped body is formed of a single rectangular ply of nylon orplastic mesh material on one side thereof and a series of rectangularthree-ply strips on the other side thereof. Each strip is formed of aninner ply of thin corrugated metallic foil of highly heat and coldconductive material, a thin outer ply of fabric, and an intermediate plyof absorbent evaporator material such as sponge including a thin band ofcotton and cross pieces of sponge placed thereon in crosswise fashionfor connecting the sponge pieces together. The three-ply strips aresecured at their ends to the ends of the nylon or plastic mesh material.Detachable fastening means such as perforated straps on one end of theband body and coacting lugs on the other end detachably connect the endsof the band body to each other. Shoulder straps attached to the topmostthree-ply strip support the vest from the shoulders of the wearer.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a wide band forencircling the outer garment on a persons body for acting as a coolingagent for the body.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wide band composed of aseries of spaced aligned bands or strip members, each with an inner plyof conductive material such as corrugated metallic foil, an outer ply ofthin fabric material and an intermediate ply constituting an absorbentevaporator member such as sponge which can be soaked with water or othercooling fluid for evaporation cooling the strip members adapted toencircle an outer garment on the body of a person and to contact theevaporator member for cooling of the conductive strips as the coolingfluid evaporates from the evaporator members.

Brief description of the views of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a frontelevational view of a cooling vest embodying the invention in operativeposition on a person and FIGURE 1A is a rear elevational view of saidvest.

FIG. 2 is a part perspective view and part diagrammatic view of thecooling vest shown in FIG. 1, parts being shown broken away.

FIG. 2A is a top plan view of a portion of the strip of absorbentevaporator material, on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a portion of the body of the vest,parts being shown broken away.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the plane of theline 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line 5-5of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line 66 ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the plane of the line 77of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the plane of the line 8-8of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 99 ofFIG. 6.

Detailed description of the drawings Referring now in detail to thevarious views of the draw- 3,429,138 Patented Feb. 25, 1969 ings, inFIG. 1 a cooling vest made in accordance with the present invention isshown adapted to the upper torso of a person and is designated generallyat 10.

The coolant vest 10 includes a series of aligned and spaced rectangularstrip members 12 looped to form a band. Each strip member 12 is athree-ply construction, an inner ply 14 as viewed in FIG. 2, ofconductive material, preferably a thin strip of corrugated metallic foilor similar reflective and highly heat and cold conductive material. Anouter ply 16 of thin fabric material, and an intermediate ply 18constituted by a thin band 19 of cotton and a plurality of pieces ofabsorbent evaporator material such as sponge 21 placed side by sidethereon and connected by the cotton band 19. Edging 20 bindsperipherally the plies 14, 16, stitches 22 being provided through theedging end plies.

The strip members 12 are held in aligned and spaced relation and securedtogether by means of a wide cover 23 band of nylon or plastic meshmaterial, covering the outer surface of the strip members 12. The fabricedging 20 secures the top end edge of the mesh band 23 to the top edgeof the topmost strip member 12 is viewed in FIG. 2, and the fabricedging 26* secures the bottommost end edge of the mesh band 23 to thebottommost edge of the bottom strip member 12. Similar fabric edging 26fastens the ends of the mesh band 23 to the ends of the strip members 12so that the strip members are held in aligned spaced relation.

Narrow straps 28 of plastic are pivotally secured at one end by means ofbolts 30 and nuts 32 to the topmost and bottommost strip members 12adjacent the ends thereof. The straps 28 are formed with a series ofspaced holes 34. Similar straps 36 are secured lengthwise of theirbodies to the topmost strip member 12 and the bottommost strip member 12by means of bolts 38 and nuts 40.

Lugs 42 are anchored to the strap and extend outwardly of the strap forcooperation with the holes 34 in the straps 28 for detachably andadjustably connecting the ends of the vest to each other around thewearer. A series of spaced holes 44 is formed in each of the topmost andhottommost strip members 12 for receiving the bolt 30 and nut 32fastening members for adjusting the length of the body of the vest.

A pair of shoulder straps 46 is secured at one end of the topmost stripmember 12, midway the ends thereof by sectional screws 48 passingthrough aligned holes in the ends of the straps and in the topmost stripmember 12. One of the shoulder straps 46 is secured at its other end tothe topmost strip member 12 adjacent one end thereof, and the othershoulder strap is secured at its other end to the topmost strip memberat the other end thereof. Each shoulder srap 46 comprises an elongatedstrip member 50 similar in construction to strip member 12 but thefabric ply 16 of the strip member 50 is covered with nylon or plasticmesh material 52 similar to the nylon mesh cover 23. Edging 54 similarto edging 20 covers the peripheral edge of the strip member 50. A seriesof holes 56 is formed in the topmost strip member 12 inwardly of theinner ends of the straps 28 and 36 for adjustably receiving thesectional screws 48 for adjusting the straps along the body of the vest.Holes 58 are formed midway the ends of the topmost strip member 12 forthe same purpose.

The cooling vest is especially flexible in all directions and thereforethe cooling vest touches the body of the wearer perfectly well. As aresult, the cooling effect of the cooling vest, so made, is veryelfective In use, the entire vest 10 is dunked in water or other coolingfluid. The wetted vest is placed over the shoulders of the outer garmenton the body of the wearer and fastened around the upper portion of thetorso of the wearer as shown in FIG. 1. As the temperature of theweather and of the body of the wearer increases the rate of evaporationof the cooling fluid increases. The cooling is directly transferred tothe conductive layer 14 and by the layer to the body of the wearer.Likewise heat from the Wearers body is transferred by the conductivelayer 14 to the evaporator member 18 for evaporation of the coolingfluid. Substantial cooling of the conductive layer 14 takes place for asubstantial length or period of time.

The cooling vest regarding cooling effect, covers the most sensitivepart of the body. Furthermore, the part of the body under the coolingvest even by breathing motionless, touches continuously different partsof the cooling vest and this creates a pleasant feeling of coolness sobadly needed when it is hot.

However, by working, walking and so on, the body under the cooling vesttouches the vest much stronger and on a larger scale and therefore thecooling effect greatly increases. This helps the person in time of workto stand the heat without suifering.

It has been found in practice by wearers of the vest that an immediateand pleasant sensation is produced. The cooling effect is noticedimmediately. The vest stops unpleasant perspiration as it has been foundto correct to some degree excessive blood vessel dilation in the skinand the circulatory advantage produced by the vest is the cause of thepleasant reaction sensed by the wearer. The effect produced when wearingthe vest is somewhat like the effect produced by an air-conditionedenclosure and continues to function even when the feeling of coolnessdisappears. The vest provides extra support to the neural system of thebody by applying a cool stimuli to certain areas of the body skin. Thevest accordingly stops excessive sweating and is efiective in improvingthe subjective tolerance of heat.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise construction herein disclosed and that various changes andmodifications may be made within the scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A cooling vest for the human body of the kind described, said vestcomprising a split annular body composed of a series of composite stripmembers in spaced aligned relation; means for holding said strip membersin position, each strip member including an annular strip of waterabsorbent material; means for adjustably and removably securing the vestto the body of the wearer; means for removably supporting the body ofthe vest on the shoulders of the wearer, the means for securing the vestto the body being constituted by perforated straps anchored at one endto one end of the body and straps secured to the other end of the body,said latter straps mounting spaced lugs cooperating with theperforations in the first-named straps for holding the vest on the body.4 of the wearer, the means for removably supporting the body of thevest on the shoulders of the wearer being constituted by a pair ofshoulder straps secured at their ends at oposite points along the top ofthe body of the vest, the means for holding the strip members inposition being constituted by a cover of mesh material secured along theperipheral edges of the top and bottom strip members and along the endsof the strip members.

2. A cooling vest for the human body of the kind described as defined inclaim 1, said shoulder straps each including a layer of water absorbantmaterial.

3. A cooling vest for the human body of the kind described as defined inclaim 1, wherein the annular strip of water absorbent material isdisposed between an inner layer of corrugated metallic foil and an outerlayer of thin fabric material, said strip including a thin cotton bandand pieces of sponge material across the band and secured thereto, saidpieces adapted to fit in the corrugated portions of the layer ofmetallic foil.

4. A cooling vest for the human body of the kind described as defined inclaim 1, and edging securing the peripheral edges of said strip andlayers together; means for securing the vest to the body beingconstituted by perforated straps anchored at one end to one end of thebody and straps secured to the other end of the body, said strapsmounting spaced lugs cooperating with the perforations in thefirst-named straps for holding the vest on the body of the wearer.

'5. A cooling vest for the human body of the kind described as definedin claim 4, wherein means for removably supporting the body of the veston the shoulders of the wearer is constituted by a pair of shoulderstraps secured at their ends at opposite points along the top of thebody of the vest, said shoulder straps each including a layer of Waterabsorbent material and a layer of corrugated metallic foil, and whereinmeans for holding the strip members in position is constituted by acover of mesh material secured along the peripheral edges of the top andbottom strip members and along the ends of the strip members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,059,511 11/ 1936 Engleman 623162,206,481 7/1940 Luchs 46 3,029,438 4/ 1962 Henschel 62-259 3,074,250 1/1963 Everett 62-259 3,125,865 3/1964 Bennelman 62-259 WILLIAM J. WYE,Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

